Built-in sliding doors have special interest because they allow gaining more free space than hinged doors. This is due to the fact that the leaf of an open sliding door is totally or partially concealed between the constructive enclosures forming the distribution of the premises.
Generally the lower part of the sliding leaf comprises a guide in which there slides at least one guide that is fixed to the floor. The main function of these guides is to guide the movement of the leaf, always keeping it on the same vertical plane, and therefore preventing blows against the inner faces of the enclosures caused by possible pendular movements.
On many occasions, this type of guide carries out a second function consisting of slowing the introduction of the leaf between both enclosures. On such occasions the guide carrying out said function, called “stop”, prevents the leaf from being introduced completely between both enclosures.
The alternative to the stops fixed directly on the floor, such as those that have just been mentioned, are the stops fixed on the upper part of the leaf, generally on the upper securing rails thereof.
In both cases, the position of said stops will depend on aesthetic aspects and on functional aspects relating to the sliding door. The aesthetic aspects mainly come from the visual result of the entire assembly once assembled, depending mainly on the visual aspect caused by the portion of the sliding leaf projecting from the enclosures when the door is completely open. With respect to the functional aspects, a first example would be the presence of handles on the leaf of the door which could collide against the enclosures or be concealed behind them. A second example could be that the enclosures do not conceal the entire leaf and the introduction thereof would have to be slowed to prevent it from colliding against the bottom.
Both described systems have the drawback that once fixed they do not allow adjusting the maximum overlap of the leaf with the enclosures, that is, they do not allow adjusting the maximum opening of the door. That means that any assembly error causing the incorrect operation of the system, or the visual result not being to the satisfaction of the user, will cause having to disassemble the stop and reassemble it in the desired position, with all the drawbacks that this involves.
Furthermore, it is not always evident to identify the correct position of the stop to achieve the desired introduction of the leaf between the enclosures. For that reason, on many occasions such assembly errors occur.
Neither do both described systems facilitate future maintenance or refurbishment tasks, because to carry out such tasks it is necessary to disassemble both the sliding leaves and the stops.